Chapter 29
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Only then did he see the person covered in blood, with the blade buried deep in their chest, only the hilt protruding.
Jiang Yanchi’s eyes were filled with anguish, reaching out as if to grasp the knife but hesitating to touch it. Instead, he supported the person who was slowly slipping away, wrapping his arms around their slender waist to keep them from falling.
“You, you… don’t move… relax… don’t move…”
Jiang Yanchi was overcome with fear, his hands almost losing their strength. He numbly lifted the person, taking a few unsteady steps that caused the person in his arms to cough up blood.
“Ah Mu, it’s okay, it’s okay…”
After placing the person on the bed, he grabbed a piece of cloth to press against the wound beside the knife. Although the blade had cut his palm, he felt no pain.
Despite his efforts, the warm, thick blood continued to seep through his fingers. He pressed harder, but Chu Xie coughed up more blood in response, causing his grip to loosen slightly, yet he could feel the blood oozing from his palm.
He was going to die.
The knife had penetrated so deeply.
He was already frail and hanging on by a thread.
Unrecoverable.
The more he thought about it, the more his hand trembled uncontrollably.
Jiang Yanchi listened to his labored breaths, his eyes red and anxious. He tried to feel for his pulse, “Don’t sleep, don’t sleep…”
But Chu Xie’s body gradually weakened, and even opening his eyes felt like a struggle. Jiang Yanchi picked him up and held him close, using his body to warm his hands and feet, and covering him with thick blankets.
Where were the imperial physicians? Why hadn’t they arrived yet?!
“Talk to me, you haven’t explained yet… You…”
“It’s something I can’t explain, Your Highness…” he whispered weakly, like a wisp of smoke. “Let me die.”
As if a heavy burden had been lifted.
“If I die, he can’t harm anyone anymore.”
Tears welled up in Jiang Yanchi’s eyes and finally fell, one by one, hot and cold.
No, no.
62%… 61%… 62%…
Chu Xie knew that his body was already fragile. After such a deep wound to his chest, there was no doubt that he would die.
In no time, the imperial physician arrived, but Chu Xie felt numb and cold throughout his body, a sign of severe blood loss.
The imperial physician could do nothing but shake his head repeatedly, “It’s too late this time… There’s no hope…”
Jiang Yanchi’s eyes were filled with crimson, and he grabbed the imperial physician’s collar. “What did you say? Say it again!”
“Lord Chu has always had a weak constitution. His old injuries were severe, and saving him last night was already a close call… Now, with a stab to the heart and a severed artery, this…”
Hearing the imperial physician’s words, Chu Xie felt relieved. It was okay to die; it wasn’t in vain that he had endured this much pain.
He slowly closed his eyes and took his last breath.
“Ding~ Chu Xie’s character alignment score: 62%, Xu Chunmu’s character alignment score: 80%, Plot completion: 85%. Congratulations on completing the mission perfectly. You are about to be returned to your original world and start your new life…”
Success!
He could finally be reborn!
As his soul left, Chu Xie saw the little crown prince holding his cooling body desperately, repeatedly calling his name.
Then, he didn’t know anything else.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
When Chu Xie opened his eyes again, he saw a white ceiling and heard the beeping of machines.
“Host has completed the mission perfectly and obtained a rebirth. Congratulations, please cherish this hard-earned new life. The system is about to withdraw in three, two…”
Suddenly, there was a tearing pain throughout Chu Xie’s body.
It was as if something forcefully ejected him from this body.
“Huh?!”
“Host, wait… Something’s not right…”
With a loud crash, Chu Xie was plunged into darkness once again.
***
In the Eastern Palace, there was a flurry of activity for three whole days, and no one was allowed inside. People could only see wave after wave of imperial physicians entering, but no one came out.
The courtiers were all guessing whether the Crown Prince had been attacked again.
People from Duke Yue’s residence, however, were clever. Instead of focusing on the Eastern Palace, they went to inquire at the pharmacy.
Zhao Xuan personally went there.
Using some silver coins, he bought the herbs that were being sent to the Eastern Palace. Inside were various drugs, including hemostatics like pine flower red seeds and life-sustaining herbs like mountain ginseng.
Three days had passed.
But there was still no news from inside. What exactly had happened… in the Eastern Palace?
As he left the pharmacy, Zhao Xuan coincidentally ran into Young Marquis Xu, who was also there for information. They exchanged a knowing nod and passed each other by.
Zhao Xuan returned to Duke Yue’s residence, where he was immediately asked, “Is he dead?” Zhao Xuan shook his head, unable to say for sure.
Meanwhile, Xu Chunmu also returned to Chu Xie’s mansion. The steward anxiously asked, “Any news?” Young Marquis Xu sighed.
“The Eastern Palace is keeping information tightly guarded. I went to the palace’s pharmacy today, but all I found out is that something significant has happened. I don’t know the details.”
Tao Li immediately wiped away her tears and asked, “What is the Eastern Palace, and how can our Lord stay there comfortably? Nowadays, the Dali Temple keeps asking for the person all the time. We don’t have anyone to offer. We wanted to go and ask for the person from the Eastern Palace, but now, how can we?”
Young Marquis Xu’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Then let’s go and ask the Eastern Palace.”
They couldn’t wait any longer.
“How can we do it?” the steward was asking when he suddenly seemed to remember something. He quickly said, “The Lord once mentioned that he gave the Crown Prince’s birth mother a keepsake. He instructed that, in the event of trouble at Duke Rongguo’s residence, this keepsake should be handed over to the Young Marquis after three days, with the Young Marquis then discreetly presenting it to the Eastern Palace… I wonder if we can use this as an opportunity to see the Lord once more in the Eastern Palace.”
Young Marquis Xu’s eyes brightened immediately. “I remember this. Quickly give me the token.”
The steward searched through a hidden chamber and found Chu Xie’s personal jade pendant and a stack of letters. He handed them over to Young Marquis Xu. “Since the Crown Prince severed ties with Lord Chu, Duan Niang Niang’s letters haven’t been sent to the Eastern Palace. You should pass them on as well.”
“Good.”
With this pretext, Young Marquis Xu finally found himself standing outside the Eastern Palace again. This time, he could use these reasons to meet Jiang Yanchi once more.
It had only been three days, but Jiang Yanchi looked considerably more haggard.
“Your Highness,” Young Marquis Xu greeted with a bow, handing over the letters, “These are what Lord Chu asked me to deliver to you.”
When Jiang Yanchi heard Chu Xie’s name, he finally showed some spirit. “Chu… Xie.”
“Yes.” Young Marquis Xu laid out the letters one by one. “These are letters sent to you by your mother.”
Jiang Yanchi seemed a bit sluggish and remained silent for a while. “Burn them. They are not from my mother.”
“Why wouldn’t they be?” Young Marquis Xu was puzzled.
“My mother passed away long ago. Four years ago, Chu Xie poisoned her.”
Jiang Yanchi’s voice was low when he said this. There was no hint of hatred or relief, just a sense of something heavy that had been kept inside, with no one left to share it with.
But Young Marquis Xu’s expression darkened. Were these letters fake? Was there a deep-seated grudge between Chu Xie and Jiang Yanchi, even to the point of patricide? It made sense why Jiang Yanchi had despised Chu Xie so much in his previous life.
As he contemplated this, a sudden realization struck him.
Ignoring the risk of offending Jiang Yanchi, Young Marquis Xu reached out and tightly grabbed Jiang Yanchi’s wrist. “Your Highness, where is Lord Chu?”
If Jiang Yanchi knew that Chu Xie had killed his mother, he couldn’t possibly have been genuinely interested in saving him.
“He… he…”
Jiang Yanchi’s voice was as low as a mosquito’s hum. He choked several times before softly saying, “He’s dead.”
Xu Chunmu’s pupils suddenly dilated, and his hand remained outstretched, frozen in place. After a long while, he asked, “Dead… What do you mean?”
Jiang Yanchi didn’t reply.
Xu Chunmu’s heart gradually filled with a chilling sensation.
“Wasn’t it you who said you could save him?” Xu Chunmu’s hand rested on the hilt of his sword, and he drew it out to press it against Jiang Yanchi’s chest. Countless palace guards immediately aimed their arrows at him from within the palace walls, and the tension was palpable. “You lied to me. You wanted to kill him from the beginning, didn’t you?”
However, Jiang Yanchi remained silent.
“You’re so young, yet you’re so ruthless—”
“Young Marquis!” The leader of the imperial guards warned, “That’s the Crown Prince. Please be cautious!”
“You killed him! You actually went ahead and killed him!” Xu Chunmu’s sword drew even nearer. “You hated him, so you could have stripped him of his position. I told you I would take him back to the Northern Territories, and I said we would never return to the capital in this lifetime! Why did you resort to such extreme measures?”
Seeing Jiang Yanchi’s continued silence, Xu Chunmu’s eyes gradually reddened. He swiped the edge of the blade closer to his neck. “If it weren’t for him, Your Highness would never have become the Crown Prince! Even if he committed a crime by killing Chen, the Ministry of Punishments would have dealt with it! He… he…”
In this life, after all…
He still couldn’t save him.
The blade in Xu Chunmu’s hand trembled, emitting a low hum. It remained still for a long time, and his eyes revealed desolation.
The leader of the imperial guards aimed his bow, pulling the bowstring taut, and the arrowhead pointed directly at the person. “Xu Chunmu!”
Xu Chunmu had always been well-behaved and maintained propriety.
This was the first time the leader had seen him so agitated, and considering Xu Chunmu’s exceptional skills, he kept a tight grip on his bowstring, not daring to let his guard down.
“Where is he?”
Xu Chunmu’s sword withdrew slightly, maintaining a distance. His eyes were filled with anguish as he questioned, “Hand him over to me!”
After three days, Xu Chunmu finally saw Chu Xie again.
He had never expected that Chu Xie hadn’t died from his incurable illness…
But from a fatal wound to the heart.
After checking the body, it was clear that the person had stopped breathing, the pulse had ceased, and the body had already gone cold. However, for some unknown reason, the complexion hadn’t turned pale or bluish. Instead, it appeared weak, as if drained of blood.
It was hard for anyone to believe that he was truly dead.
Xu Chunmu held the body carefully. He was about to leave the Eastern Palace when he heard Jiang Yanchi’s voice from behind, “Where are you taking him?”
The voice was still dazed, vague, as if not entirely awake.
“It’s better to bury him properly. Do you want him to keep lying here in this cold palace?”
The cold palace.
Indeed.
Whether it was the Eastern Palace or the cold palace, it was all the same. Lifeless and devoid of vitality.
Xu Chunmu tossed the jade pendant that Chu Xie had entrusted to him on the table with a resounding thud. “Thirty miles east of the city, at the post station, at the third quarter of the You hour, someone wants to see you.”
Jiang Yanchi’s eyes suddenly contracted when he saw the jade pendant.
Finally regaining some clarity, he trembled as he picked up the warm jade pendant. He asked the person who was about to leave, “Who gave you this pendant?”
Xu Chunmu stepped out of the Eastern Palace without looking back, his voice indifferent as it drifted on the wind. “This was the last thing Ah Xie entrusted to me while he was still alive. I’ve done what he asked. As for whether Your Highness goes to meet or not, it’s your decision.”
Jiang Yanchi clutched the warm, ivory-like jade pendant, and his fingers gradually turned blue as they trembled.
This was his mother’s jade pendant.
Why did Chu Xie want Xu Chunmu to give him this pendant? Had he arranged this in advance?
Could it be that he had already foreseen his own death after he killed Chen?
Thirty miles east of the city, at the post station, at the third quarter of the You hour.
Chu Xie had calculated his own time of death and arranged for him to meet someone.
There were faint speculations in Jiang Yanchi’s heart, and his fingers clutching the pendant trembled slightly.
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